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Joseph II

(Encyclopedia)Joseph II, 1741–90, Holy Roman emperor (1765–90), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1780–90), son of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, whom he succeeded. He was the first emperor of the...

Xerxes II

(Encyclopedia)Xerxes II, d. 424 b.c., king of ancient Persia (424 b.c.), son of Artaxerxes I. After a reign of 45 days he was murdered by his half-brother Sogdianus. ...

Westmorland, Charles Neville, 6th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Westmorland, Charles Neville, 6th earl of nĕvˈĭl, wĕstˈmərlənd [key], 1543–1601, English nobleman. A Roman Catholic by birth and connected with the powerful Howard family by marriage, he join...

Marwan II

(Encyclopedia)Marwan II märˈwän [key], 684–750, last of the Umayyad caliphs. He served as governor of Armenia before his short-lived rule as caliph (744–50). Marwan reorganized his army, taking Syria by 746....

Darius II

(Encyclopedia)Darius II, d. 404 b.c., king of ancient Persia (423?–404 b.c.); son of Artaxerxes I and a concubine, hence sometimes called Darius Nothus [Darius the bastard]. His rule was not popular or successful...

Berengar II

(Encyclopedia)Berengar II bĕrˈĭng-gər [key], d. 966, marquis of Ivrea. In 950 he made himself and his son joint kings of Italy, but his great unpopularity and his attempt to force Adelaide, his predecessor's wi...

Jeroboam II

(Encyclopedia)Jeroboam II, in the Bible, king of Israel, son of Jehoash, whom he succeeded. His reign was marked by increasing prosperity and expansion northward, but also by corruption. Amos and Hosea appeared und...

Murad II

(Encyclopedia)Murad II, 1403–51, Ottoman sultan (1421–51), son and successor of Muhammad I to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He was opposed at his accession by a pretender, Mustafa, who rapidly gain...

Seleucus II

(Encyclopedia)Seleucus II (Seleucus Callinicus), d. 226 b.c., king of ancient Syria (247–226 b.c.), son of Antiochus II. On his father's death there was a struggle for the throne between Seleucus and his stepmoth...

Pius II

(Encyclopedia)Pius II pīˈəs [key], 1405–64, pope (1458–64), an Italian named Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini (often in Latin, Aeneas Silvius), renamed Pienza after him, b. Corsigniano; successor of Calixtus III....